Cincinnati Reds #25 Prospect: LHP Jacob Constante

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Jacob Constante made his 2015 debut with the Billings Mustangs on June 21st. The left hander would allow two runs in 4.2 innings with four walks and four strikeouts. He would follow that up in his next start by allowing two more runs, but this time in just 3.0 innings with four walks and four strikeouts. He would face two batters in the 4th inning of the game but couldn’t retire either before being removed for a reliever. That would be his final start of June, finishing the month with a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 innings with eight walks and eight strikeouts. The walk rate was way too high, but the sample size was rather small.

July began with more of the same. On the road against Helena the Dominican Republic native allowed four runs in 4.0 innings with three walks and three strikeouts. That was followed by his first win of the season where he would allow two runs in 5.0 innings with three more walks and strikeouts. On July 12th his season would hit a low point as Constante allowed seven runs in 3.1 innings with four walks and no strikeouts. It would be a week before he would pitch again and the next appearance would come from the bullpen on the 19th. In 4.2 innings of relief he would allow two earned runs with just one walk and with four strikeouts. For his next appearance he would return to the rotation and allow just one earned run over 6.0 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. On July 30th he would make his final appearance of the month and would have a hiccup, allowing three runs in 3.2 innings with three walks and two strikeouts. The left hander would finish the month with a 6.41 ERA in 26.2 innings with 16 walks and 18 strikeouts. The control was a problem for most of the games throughout the month.

It would be 10 days before he would take the mound again, but he made the start in the second game of a double header against Ogden and the rest did him plenty of good as he allowed just one run in 6.0 innings with two walks and five strikeouts. His next game would also come against Ogden and he’d find more success, allowing just one run in 5.0 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. On the 20th he would make another road start and toss 5.0 shutout innings with two walks and six more strikeouts. In his third straight road start he would put together the best start of the season, tossing 7.0 shutout frames with just one walk and seven strikeouts. On August 30th he would give up two earned over 5.0 innings, but would walk three batters for the first time in a month. The final start of the season came against Helena, who he was facing for the fourth time on the season. He tossed 6.0 shutout innings, but struggled with his control as he walked four batters with just two strikeouts. Over the final five weeks of the season he would post a 1.06 ERA in 34.0 innings with 14 walks and 32 strikeouts.

Consistency was a problem for the lefty during the 2015 season. He would battle his control, particularly in the first half of the season. Known as a big groundball pitcher, he also struggled early on in generating grounders, but really picked up that rate after the first several weeks of the season.

ERA

IP

H

HR

BB

K

WHIP

3.56

68.1

59

2

38

58

1.42

Scouting Report

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Fastball | Constante throws in the 90-94 MPH range with his fastball. Some games it was 90-92 and other days it was 92-94. The pitch has good movement at times, showing nice sinking action with some armside run.

Slider | His go to pitch when he’s ahead in counts, his slider had above-average to plus potential. At times it’s a below-average offering though as he can struggle with the consistency of the offering. When it’s on, it’s a legit put away pitch right now, but it’s still too inconsistent – even within the same game.

Change Up | It’s still a third offering for the left hander, but it’s gotten better each year since he signed. It’s a below-average offering that doesn’t have consistency yet, but when it’s on it can show some good fading action. At times it’s rather straight though.

There’s some risk with Jacob Constante. He’s got to find more consistency with his offspeed pitches and his ability to throw strikes. Mechanically he’s quite smooth and there aren’t many moving parts, so he should be able to improve his control with time. While there is risk, there is some reward there for Constante too. He’s got an above-average fastball with good velocity and movement that helped generate a very high rate of groundballs. His slider can be a true out pitch and his change up has the showings of being at least a usable pitch if not an average one.

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